The romance of the underdog

Crystal Palace’s Joel Ward celebrates with teammates and the trophy after winning the FA Cup on Saturday
| Photo Credit:
DAVID KLEIN

In the sporting realm, the heartwarming journey of the underdog always strikes a chord. Crystal Palace winning the prestigious FA Cup by beating the mighty Manchester City on Saturday was one such story.

For Crystal Palace it was its first ever silverware after faltering twice in the finals — once in 1990 and another in 2016, so that made the victory all the more sweet.

It has been a fascinating journey for Crystal Palace this season, a team that was rooted to the middle rungs of the English Premier League. Their manager, the Austrian Oliver Glasner deserves all the credit for building a cohesive team, without any superstars.

The hero for Crystal Palace was their goalkeeper Dean Henderson who not only pulled off some incredible saves but even saved a penalty. The Manchester City faithful would argue that Henderson should not have been on the pitch after clearly handling the ball outside the penalty box to deny Erling Haaland a clear goal scoring chance. The Video Assisted Referee (VAR) incredibly did not spot this, and words were exchanged between Henderson and a frazzled Pep Guardiola — Manchester City’s coach — after the final whistle.

But Palace needed that bit of luck, especially against a stupendously successful team like Manchester City, whose Gulf monarchy ownership and riches have led to much hand-wringing in English football.

Crystal Palace were worthy winners as they not only put on a brilliant defensive display, they also looked more menacing on the counter. Manchester City for all their possession did not look threatening. For Manchester City this would be their first season since 2016 without any trophy and surely there would be plenty of soul searching. Guardiola cut a forlorn figure after the final whistle.

The Wembley Stadium was a riot of Red and Blue, with the Crystal Palace fans decked in the club colours and waving flags, singing and the celebrations would have gone on all night. An underdog victory always inspires.

Published on May 18, 2025